# the desire to have nothing bothering you is an expression of the death drive

Neil, in his podcast [on negativity](https://gorman.transistor.fm/episodes/tgl-012-addendum-more-on-jouissance-death-drive-negativity-lack), says that the desire to have nothing bothering you, that is, the desire to simply be “useless”, is an expression of the [[death drive]]. [[Freud]] believed that this desire is repressed and comes out in various self-destructive habits, such as drinking, doing drugs, etc. For Freud, life introduces anxiety and struggle.

And on this, the [[Buddha]] and [[Freud]] agree: life is struggle.

Conversely, we also have a desire to work towards what the best version of ourselves is (by removing [[lack]]), and that struggle creates [[jouissance]].